Conspiracy Theory of the Day!
Re: the photo
To me it looks like the big guy is sitting on the aisle side armrest waiting for someone (maybe the guy sitting by the window on his row?). I read someone's analysis somewhere online and they pointed out that several overhead compartments were open, like the flight was still on the ground.
However, fat is the last acceptable prejudice. That makes it easier for them to put these kind of policies into place.
An airline would never dream of making a mother with a small baby pay for a second seat. You can't tell me a mother, a baby and all the accoutrements take up a whole lot less space than an obese person. (And an obese person isn't going to spit up or poop their pants.)
At the same time, airlines are trying to reduce costs by eliminating flights, resulting in the remaining flights having more passengers. They've also reduced the size of the seats, and the legroom to get more seats onto a plane.
Having someone taking up 1 1/2 coach seats when they only paid for one does cost them money. They do use more gas transporting a 300-lb person than a 150-lb person. It's not fair to the paying patron in the next seat to have to spend a flight with a neighbor splooging over the armrest into their space.
So, I think it is somewhat of a business decision to do this, but it still stinks.
To me it looks like the big guy is sitting on the aisle side armrest waiting for someone (maybe the guy sitting by the window on his row?). I read someone's analysis somewhere online and they pointed out that several overhead compartments were open, like the flight was still on the ground.
However, fat is the last acceptable prejudice. That makes it easier for them to put these kind of policies into place.
An airline would never dream of making a mother with a small baby pay for a second seat. You can't tell me a mother, a baby and all the accoutrements take up a whole lot less space than an obese person. (And an obese person isn't going to spit up or poop their pants.)
At the same time, airlines are trying to reduce costs by eliminating flights, resulting in the remaining flights having more passengers. They've also reduced the size of the seats, and the legroom to get more seats onto a plane.
Having someone taking up 1 1/2 coach seats when they only paid for one does cost them money. They do use more gas transporting a 300-lb person than a 150-lb person. It's not fair to the paying patron in the next seat to have to spend a flight with a neighbor splooging over the armrest into their space.
So, I think it is somewhat of a business decision to do this, but it still stinks.
One food makes you larger, and one food makes you small...
Mike,
As a former advertising photographer with an Automotive Studio and having a great deal of expertise in photo manipulation, I do not find anything in this photo, that I can say with 100% certainty, is not consistent with what could be found in a real photo. This man could indeed be a very tall large individual and this could well be a real photo. Juxtaposition, camera angle, and focal length to subject distance(ratio) could negate the argument that the person should appear tilted. Without the knowing the lens to format ratio, the lens to subject ratio, the angle of the image plane to subject and the lighting ratio, any evaluation of an image would be meaningless. One can never prove the genuine authenticity of a modern digital image, many generations removed from the source, but I would not say that this can be assumed to be a fake, just as I can not say that this is actually real. Since it accompanied a news column, I would expect that the publisher had some ethics, but I would never assume that either. What I can say was not a fake was the article, which was critically insulting in it's comments about obese people on-board airplanes.
As a former advertising photographer with an Automotive Studio and having a great deal of expertise in photo manipulation, I do not find anything in this photo, that I can say with 100% certainty, is not consistent with what could be found in a real photo. This man could indeed be a very tall large individual and this could well be a real photo. Juxtaposition, camera angle, and focal length to subject distance(ratio) could negate the argument that the person should appear tilted. Without the knowing the lens to format ratio, the lens to subject ratio, the angle of the image plane to subject and the lighting ratio, any evaluation of an image would be meaningless. One can never prove the genuine authenticity of a modern digital image, many generations removed from the source, but I would not say that this can be assumed to be a fake, just as I can not say that this is actually real. Since it accompanied a news column, I would expect that the publisher had some ethics, but I would never assume that either. What I can say was not a fake was the article, which was critically insulting in it's comments about obese people on-board airplanes.
"I refuse to measure success in pounds lost, but rather in life gained!"
Nick
Nick
This is a hard one for me to answer on. I use to work in corporate travel, but after that and pre-op I was a corporate traveler. In 2008 I traveled a lot from FL to the west coast. I knew that Delta seats belts were tight, and that Northwest and Southwest were not so bad. I remember coming home from Seattle I was struggling to get by seat belt to latch, and I was in the first row which was also an exit row. I was being watched to make sure that my belt would latch so that I would be able to sit in that seat, because you can't sit in the exit row if you need an extender. I never got to that point (thank God and WLS) but it was awful sitting there stressing about my seatbelt.
To the point... in some cases I can see there being a need to charge for an additional seat, as if you are not able to put another person in the next seat then you can't sell it. Should you be charged for a second fare, maybe not, but with the way the airlines charge for bags you know that they are going to get all they can out of you. Can there be some sensitivity training when it comes to this, ABSOLUTELY!!! I have not been in that type of position, I managed to stay just under that, but the person that is traveling also needs to be honest with themselves to avoid ending up in that position of being on the plane and having to make arrangements at that time. If on the plane they require you to purchase a second seat they can charge you FULL fare which can be VERY expensive. Is that taking advantage? Absolutely. I feel like I am being mean, but as a formerly Morbid Obese person, and still considered obese (I am 9 mos out and currently 212) I also need to realize that I am my only advocate most of the time and if I take care of details like this in advance there will be less stress involved at that time.
I do not mean to offend, I am truly just a direct person, who at the same time knows what it is like to be treated bad because of my appearance, and judged just for being fat.
To the point... in some cases I can see there being a need to charge for an additional seat, as if you are not able to put another person in the next seat then you can't sell it. Should you be charged for a second fare, maybe not, but with the way the airlines charge for bags you know that they are going to get all they can out of you. Can there be some sensitivity training when it comes to this, ABSOLUTELY!!! I have not been in that type of position, I managed to stay just under that, but the person that is traveling also needs to be honest with themselves to avoid ending up in that position of being on the plane and having to make arrangements at that time. If on the plane they require you to purchase a second seat they can charge you FULL fare which can be VERY expensive. Is that taking advantage? Absolutely. I feel like I am being mean, but as a formerly Morbid Obese person, and still considered obese (I am 9 mos out and currently 212) I also need to realize that I am my only advocate most of the time and if I take care of details like this in advance there will be less stress involved at that time.
I do not mean to offend, I am truly just a direct person, who at the same time knows what it is like to be treated bad because of my appearance, and judged just for being fat.
Also it appears no one is sitting directly behind him, so why wouldn't he have the person in the middle seat behind him switch and then he'd have two seats. I've flown at a size waaay bigger than him and I carry it in my lower body and never ever hung over a seat like that....I knew it was BS the first time I saw it.
I have Lipedema and Lymphedema. I also have a passion for Obesity and Health Insurance Advocacy.
Blog: born2lbfat.com Facebook: Born2lbFat Twitter: @born2lbfat
Has anyone read some of comments that people left on that photo? Some of those people are down right jerky! Especially this one: "THEY SHOULD MAKE ALL OF THESE OBESE PEOPLE SIT TOGETHER AND MAKE EACH OTHER UNCOMFORTABLE" Seriously buddy? I am nominating FRED STEMMING as douche bag of the year!
Here is what I think. People like this point their finger at obese people and say "it's your fault!" but why don't any of them look at the airlines. When I was at my heaviest (almost 400lbs) I flew cross country a few times, and I don't have tell you it is really painful. One of the things I was looking forward to during my weight loss was being able to fly comfortably, but guess what? I am still uncomfortable! I am 6'2 and an average size now but after 1 hour in one of those seats I am hurting. My knees are in the back of the seat, and the seat is so upright you cant get comfortable. So why does no one look to the airlines and ask "why cant you sacrifice a little profit to make seats that will fit at least 50% of the population?". Granted, some obese individuals probably still wont fit, but at least for some of them on the border line the person next to them can't complain.
The day I get charged extra is the day they have their ADA discrimination suit, I have a congenital condition that causes the excess weight, do they charge extra for people who need to be pushed in a wheel chair? No, they don't. Period.
I have Lipedema and Lymphedema. I also have a passion for Obesity and Health Insurance Advocacy.
Blog: born2lbfat.com Facebook: Born2lbFat Twitter: @born2lbfat
Hi Mike,
I have no idea if the photo is real or fake. The thing I hate to see is the Circus Freak Sideshow stuff much of the television media do these days. I just moved from USA to England. I cannot tell you how many shows I have seen lately. They are MUCH the same. It goes like this:
*Announcer's voice:
Tonight on "Inside the really fat guy"
Pan to a very super morbidly obese guy. Pan to the man's belly-zoom in. Zoom up to his face and show him eating pie. Pan ever closer to his mouth so we can watch the pie go into his mouth and see him chewing it.
Pan to the man in a pool-again slow motion-as we see his belly floating--moving with the water.
I have started to refuse to watch this junk. Unless the show is dealing on a humane level and giving some information and eduction-forget it.
I really would LOVE to see the end to dissecting people. It's funny-the two groups that get pulled apart like that are the very obese and the very "beautiful" (movie stars and models).
Interesting and sad as well.
Peace,
Therese
I have no idea if the photo is real or fake. The thing I hate to see is the Circus Freak Sideshow stuff much of the television media do these days. I just moved from USA to England. I cannot tell you how many shows I have seen lately. They are MUCH the same. It goes like this:
*Announcer's voice:
Tonight on "Inside the really fat guy"
Pan to a very super morbidly obese guy. Pan to the man's belly-zoom in. Zoom up to his face and show him eating pie. Pan ever closer to his mouth so we can watch the pie go into his mouth and see him chewing it.
Pan to the man in a pool-again slow motion-as we see his belly floating--moving with the water.
I have started to refuse to watch this junk. Unless the show is dealing on a humane level and giving some information and eduction-forget it.
I really would LOVE to see the end to dissecting people. It's funny-the two groups that get pulled apart like that are the very obese and the very "beautiful" (movie stars and models).
Interesting and sad as well.
Peace,
Therese
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